Healthy to be excluded from free flu shots
Quebec has become the first province in Canada to stop providing free seasonal flu shots to healthy infants from six months to 23 months as well as to healthy adults from the ages of 60 to 74 following the recommendations of a panel of immunization experts.
This year, however, the health ministry will make a one-time exception and offer the free shots to individuals in both age groups if parents and adults request the vaccinations.
The panel made the recommendation in December, but the health ministry decided only recently to put it into practice, just weeks before the launch of the annual fall flu vaccination campaign. A review by the Montreal Gazette of influenza immunization programs across Canada shows that Quebec has become the first province to implement such changes.
“Quebec immunization experts analyzed data from recent studies conducted in Quebec, among other ( jurisdictions), on the number of flu-related hospitalizations and deaths,” the ministry declared in a statement last December.
“Current data on vaccine efficacy and the possible impact of repeated vaccination were also considered. Based on their analyses, the experts concluded that the (two age) groups do not have a higher risk of flu-related hospitalization and death than the rest of Québec’s healthy population.”
“Until now, (infants between the ages of six months and 23 months as well as seniors aged 60 to 74) were considered to be at higher risk, whereas their risk is (actually) comparable to the rest of Quebec’s healthy population,” the statement added. “Only people in these two groups who have certain chronic diseases are at higher risk of serious complications.”
Noémie Vanheuverzwijn, a health ministry spokesperson, confirmed the policy change to the Montreal Gazette despite the fact that no official announcement has been made. “For these groups, the risk of suffering from complications of the flu is considered weak,” Vanheuverzwijn said in an email. “The program ... was modified to concentrate efforts to vaccinate people who are more at risk of hospitalization and death.”
At-risk individuals who will still be eligible for the free flu shots include: pregnant women in their second and third trimesters, people over the age of 75 and those suffering from certain chronic illnesses like asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancer and diabetes.
Meanwhile, the Ontario health ministry maintains a different position on the issue of vaccinating infants. “Children under 5 years of age — especially those under 2 — are at higher risk of complications from the flu,” the ministry states on its website. “Flu complications for children under 5 years of age include pneumonia, dehydration and ear infections. In rare cases, flu complications can lead to death. Children who have a medical condition (for example, asthma or diabetes) are at especially high risk of serious flu complications.”
Dr. Brian Ward, an expert on microbiology and vaccination at the McGill University Health Centre, said he supports the Quebec health ministry’s decision. He suggested it’s a waste of public funds to spend money on vaccines for healthy infants and seniors who will not benefit from the flu shot.
“The ministry is not recommending against taking the vaccine for these groups,” Ward said. “They ’re simply saying that the public program will no longer pay for the vaccine in these populations.
“The benefits to society of offering everybody the vaccine were not thought to be large enough for society to actually pay for it . ... there’s increasing evidence that repeated immunization with the currently available vaccines doesn’t necessarily help (healthy individuals).”